How to Get Found in Your Area by AI and Search Engines

If you run a business that serves a local area, you already know how important it is to show up when someone nearby searches for what you do. That has always been true with Google. But now there is another layer to think about.

When someone asks ChatGPT "What is the best plumber near Blandford Forum?" or Perplexity "Which restaurants in Shaftesbury are good for Sunday lunch?", your business either gets mentioned or it does not. That is Generative Engine Optimisation at the local level. And for most local businesses, it is being completely overlooked.

The good news is that fixing this does not require magic. It requires a proper audit of your local presence, some structured work to tidy things up, and a content plan that gives both AI tools and traditional search engines the right signals. Here is how we approach it.

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It starts with a full local presence audit

Before we do anything creative or clever, we need to understand where you stand right now. Think of it as a health check for your business's online presence. We look at everything that tells search engines and AI tools who you are, where you are, and what you do.

Our local presence audit checks every signal that tells AI tools and search engines where your business operates and what you offer.

Here is what we check.

Google Business Profile. This is the single most important piece of local search infrastructure you have. Is it claimed? Is it verified? Is every field filled in properly? Are your opening hours correct? Do the photos actually represent your business? Are you posting updates to it regularly? A surprising number of businesses either do not have a Google Business Profile or have one that was set up years ago and never touched again. Both are problems.

NAP consistency. NAP stands for Name, Address and Phone number. It sounds basic, but it is one of the most common issues we find. If your business name is slightly different on your website compared to your Google listing compared to your Facebook page, that creates confusion. Not just for customers, but for the algorithms that decide whether to recommend you. Every platform, every directory, every social profile needs to show exactly the same details.

Directory listings. Are you listed on Yell, Thomson Local, Yelp, TripAdvisor (if relevant), and the directories specific to your industry? These citations still carry weight. They tell Google and AI tools that your business is real, established, and located where you say it is. Missing listings are missed opportunities. Incorrect listings are actively harmful.

Reviews and reputation. What are people saying about you on Google, Trustpilot, and industry-specific review sites? Are you responding to reviews? Do you have a process for encouraging happy customers to leave feedback? Reviews are one of the strongest local signals there is. AI tools pay close attention to them when deciding which businesses to recommend.

Schema markup. This is a layer of code on your website that tells search engines and AI exactly what your business is, where it operates, your opening hours, your service areas and much more. Our Schema Generator builds this for you. Without it, you are relying on search engines to work things out for themselves. That is a gamble you do not need to take.

Social media presence. Are your profiles active? Do they reflect the same information as your website and Google listing? Social signals do not directly drive rankings in the way they once did, but they contribute to the overall picture of a legitimate, active local business.

The things most people overlook

The items above are the technical foundations. But local visibility is also built through real-world activity. This is where many businesses miss a trick.

Local PR. If you are doing something interesting, tell people. Local newspapers, community websites and regional magazines are always looking for stories. A new product launch, a charity partnership, a milestone anniversary, a staff member doing something remarkable. These create real backlinks and real mentions that both Google and AI tools pick up on.

Community involvement. Sponsor a local football team. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. Support a community event. Take a stall at a local market. These are not just nice things to do. They generate mentions on local websites, social media posts, event listings and news coverage. All of these feed into the signals that search engines and AI tools use to decide which businesses are genuinely rooted in an area. The businesses that are part of their community tend to be the ones that get recommended.

Partnerships with other local businesses. A hotel that recommends a local restaurant. A builder that works with a local architect. These cross-references create a web of local signals that is very difficult to fake and very valuable for search visibility.

Short videos are a secret weapon for local businesses

One of the most effective things a local business can do is create short videos filmed on location. Not polished TV adverts. Simple, genuine videos showing your premises, your team, your work and your local area.

A 60-second video of a chef talking about their suppliers at a local market. A quick tour of a newly refurbished salon. A tradesperson explaining a job they have just completed at a customer's home (with permission, obviously). These videos work for several reasons. They show search engines and AI tools that you are a real business in a real location. They build trust with potential customers who can see your face and your premises. They perform well on Google Business Profile, YouTube, Instagram Reels and TikTok. And they give AI tools rich, location-specific content to draw from when generating answers.

You do not need a film crew for most of this. A smartphone, decent lighting and someone who is comfortable talking about what they do is often enough. For bigger pieces, we can bring in a professional video team.

A practical 3-month plan

We typically break local GEO work into three phases. This keeps things manageable and means you see progress quickly rather than waiting months for everything to be finished at once.

We split the work into three clear phases so you see progress from week one, not just at the end.

Month one is about foundations. We run the full local presence audit. We claim or optimise your Google Business Profile. We fix NAP inconsistencies across every platform. We submit you to the directories you should be listed on. We add local schema markup to your website. We set up a baseline report so we can measure everything that follows. This is the unglamorous but essential work that everything else depends on.

Month two is about content. We create or improve location-specific pages on your website. We plan and produce on-location videos. We start a local blog content plan targeting the questions your customers are actually asking. We begin posting regularly to your Google Business Profile. We start community and PR outreach. This is where things become visible to your customers.

Month three is about momentum. We review what is working and what needs adjusting. We benchmark your AI visibility to see if you are being mentioned more in AI-generated answers. We expand the content calendar based on results. We ramp up review generation. We look at seasonal opportunities. And we plan the next quarter. By this point, the foundations are solid and we are building on them.

Who does the work?

That depends on you. Some clients want us to handle everything. Others prefer to do their own content with our guidance and tools. Some want a mix, perhaps using their team for social media and blog posts while we handle the technical setup and bring in a video crew for the professional pieces.

We are flexible about this because every business is different. What matters is that the right work gets done properly, not who holds the camera or writes the blog post.

This is not a one-off project

Local GEO is ongoing. Your competitors are not standing still. Google and AI tools are constantly updating how they evaluate and recommend businesses. New directories appear. Review profiles need managing. Content needs refreshing.

The three-month plan gets you from zero to a strong position. What comes after that is about maintaining and building on that position so you stay ahead.

Want to find out where you stand?

If you are a local business owner wondering whether AI tools are recommending you or your competitors, we can run an initial assessment. It will show you exactly where your local presence stands right now, where the gaps are and what the priorities should be.

No obligation. No pressure. Just a clear picture of your local digital presence and an honest conversation about what would make the biggest difference.

Get in touch and we will take it from there.

Okapi & Co is a digital marketing agency specialising in AISEO and GEO. We help local and national businesses get found by both traditional search engines and AI-powered search tools. Based in North Dorset, working with clients across the UK.